I'm Magdalena Sandoval Donahue — geologist, author, and the kind of person who thinks the best view always comes after a long climb.

I've spent my career making the outdoors make sense. I hold a Ph.D. in geology from the University of New Mexico, and I've written books that take readers into the field — whether that's decoding the roadside geology of the Southwest, hunting for rockhounding sites, or mapping out the highest summit in every U.S. state.

My latest book, Hiking High Points of America: A Guide to Hiking the Highest Point in All 50 States, publishes November 17, 2026, through Falcon Guides/Simon & Schuster. It's the guidebook I wish I'd had when I started highpointing — covering every peak, every trail, and everything you need to reach all 50. Signed copies with an exclusive sticker are available now through this site.

I'm also currently under contract with Falcon Guides for two additional titles. More on those soon.

Before books, distance running put me through undergraduate school at the University of Oregon (Go Ducks 🦆). I qualified for two U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials and ran professionally after college. These days my miles are on mountain trails instead of tracks, and my training partners are usually my husband and our three kids. If you want to follow that side of my life, I write about running and motherhood at Bun on the Run.

I'm based in Albuquerque, New Mexico — which, if you've never been, sits at 5,312 feet. A good starting elevation for an aspiring highpointer.